Bramshaw Telegraph

9th July 2009

Another lovely walk, this time outside the New Forest Boundary along the byway, foot- and bridlepaths through Fanchises Wood and Quar Hill Plantation.

The paths are well laid-out and the byway part of the route allows all traffic and more like a long drive, good enough to support 4x4s and tractors.

Bramshaw Telegraph is the name of the car park within the New Forest National Park. Then entrance to the woodlands is just across the road past Hope Cottage. The exit (or alternative entrance, if walking the route the opposite way, as I do later on) is about 100 yards further along the road.

Through the south-easternmost gate then and the track descends and descends (which of course has to be accounted for later) through dense woodland of oak, beech and pine. Don't get tempted off the permitted paths, the woodlands are privately owned on all sides. The trees open out and there's an open area which is rather scraggy although there is a large buddleia bush to one side. Across this area and through a gateway to pass between cow pasture where they graze huge Friesians. The cows are separated from the path by trees and what looks like a single strand of barbed wire. The beasts were peering at me through the trees as I stepped aside to let the tractor pass.

Be vigilant about where the byway is as the path forks quite often and it can take a double-take to see which way you are allowed to go. Clear signposting is made use of which is very handy.

Leaving the cow pastures behind, and being sure to take the left path at the fork, the way passes through the pleasant woodland as the photograph above. A little further on, there has been some maintenance work carried out along the path with trees felled and large ditches or channels cut into the side of the path which may look a bit unsightly until it begins to grow over once more. Past this, however, the path comes back into lovely woodland again and up to another junction. Keep round to the left along a rather rutted but otherwise pleasant path, lined with rhododendrons. It looks like this was once a very formal drive up to Hamptworth Lodge which is hidden in the trees somewhere to the north.

The byway continues along to emerge at a road later on. Before this, there is a clear bridleway which leads off the bridleway to the left, heading south-west. The path goes past one of the most picturesque cottages I have seen, nestled within the wood. Past the cottage and a barrier and on through more beautiful woodland, passing meadows of long grass. Where the path bends sharply to the right the path seems to be impassibly overgrown with tall bracken. The path does go clearly through it, however, and it doesn't last very far, running on into denser woodland than before. This may potentially not suit people who are claustrophobic, as the path is narrow and the trees are very densely packed, but it is a lovely place to walk.

Eventually the junction is reached with tall pines rising across the way and an excellent wide footpath running north-west/south-east. I'm sometimes a bit wary of footpaths marked on maps as they can be narrow, nettly and unkempt. This one most certainly is not and is of the best New Forest type, being broad with a surface of grass and gravel, good walking in all weathers. Right, the path goes to a road; my way lies to the left.

The environment changes and changes again. The path runs mostly through woodland with now and then fields opening out one side or the other and there is an area of common land further along.

I did get a bit confused towards the end of the walk as the main path slopes downhill and appears to bend around to the left. Well, it does, but the actual permitted footpath continues straight ahead through low bracken on a grassy way, over a plank footbridge and under some low-branching trees. Here is the compensation for the descent at the beginning of the walk. The ascent is not so long but it is steeper, up through the trees to a farmstead where they have many, many dogs of all different breeds including a great alsatian with a very deep bark. Fortunately there is a good, sturdy gate. The path goes to the right (don't go left, the dogs go crazy!) and still climbs quite steeply up through reddish woodland to the exit gate.

Out of the gate, the land opens out again and you are once more within the New Forest boundary. From here, it's a short walk up the road, past the fork and back across the road to the car park.